décimavsdécimoTell them apart

Quick tell: décima is a noun, décimo is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décima” is a noun and “décimo” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,562
“décima” frequency rank
#8,794
“décimo” frequency rank
20356
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décima décimo
Definition Cada parte de las diez en que se dividen ciertas medidas, como los grados en un termómetro, las micras, etc. Que ocupa el puesto siguiente al noveno en una serie ordenada. Ordinal del diez.

Where the eye mixes décima and décimo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
décima
6 ch
décimo

Visual trap between décima and décimo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décima is [ˈd̪esima] while décimo is [ˈd̪esimo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “décima” becomes o in “décimo”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décima is recorded at frequency rank #11,562, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪esima]. décimo is at rank #8,794, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈd̪esimo].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 20356, this pair ranks #259,701 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of décima vs décimo

Shared letters: cdimé. Private to "décima": a. Private to "décimo": o.

"décima" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "décimo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décima" and "décimo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décima" is a noun and "décimo" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décima" or "décimo"?
"décimo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,794 in our Spanish list, against #11,562 for "décima". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "décima" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "décimo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #259,701 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "décima" and "décimo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decí vs décima". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #259,701 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list